City manager: Staff cuts projected

Up to 12 city jobs could be cut by the fiscal year’s end on June 30, 2015, according to an email that City Manager Richard Woodruff sent to all Jacksonville employees on Tuesday.

Michael Todd Michael.Todd@JDNews.com

Up to 12 city jobs could be cut by the fiscal year’s end on June 30, 2015, according to an email that City Manager Richard Woodruff sent to all Jacksonville employees on Tuesday.

“We will know over the next 30-to-90 days how much progress we’re making in this mission,” Woodruff told The Daily News on Wednesday. “If we’re going to be eliminating jobs that are filled, that we should decide to do sooner than later.”

Woodruff said savings will increase by prompt, but not immediate, decisions, which could include cutting and freezing positions or vacancies, and inviting staff retirements before early next year.

The city’s general fund must shrink by $750,000 — roughly the amount the city recoups from business-privilege fees — next fiscal year, Woodruff said of a mandate by Jacksonville City Council this summer after approving a 10.4-cent property-tax hike and doubling residential sanitation fees from $5 to $10 in the current budget, according to a memorandum to all city employees that Woodruff issued on June 18.

The state has reduced the scope of municipal taxing power of businesses operating within city limits. The city must account for the loss of that revenue next year, Woodruff wrote in the memorandum.

About 350 of Jacksonville’s full-time workers — of the city’s total 565 full-time staff — earn salaries from the general fund, Woodruff wrote in the email to staff on Tuesday. Those include workers in “a very broad list” of departments, he said: police, recreation, fire, general management, planning, building inspections, sanitation and streets.

“The purpose of this communication is to provide you with information on our process toward accomplishing this important and mandatory goal,” Woodruff wrote.

The email also asks anyone considering retirement to notify Woodruff by Sept. 1.

“By identifying persons who may be considering retirement, it could potentially save the employment of others who may have to be released from the workforce in order to accomplish this goal,” Woodruff wrote.

One city worker already has come forth with retirement plans, he said on Wednesday.

“That one employee, we will analyze his position and determine whether it should or should not be filled,” Woodruff said.

Some positions at Jacksonville Police Department, and Fire and Emergency Services, for example, cannot be cut because of minimum staffing requirements per shift, he added.

The equation for the job cuts is based on an average $40,000 salary and benefits. That amounts to up to $480,000 in general-fund savings by next fiscal year.

Woodruff said the city already operates efficiently and has limited opportunities for savings beyond staffing expenses.

“There isn’t any low-hanging fruit,” Woodruff said. “You’re not going to solve this problem by not buying as many pencils.”

As to how the $270,000 in savings — after up to $480,000 in staffing cuts — would be met, Woodruff said it is too early for specific solutions.

“We don’t know the outcome or total components, but we what we do know is we will meet this goal,” Woodruff said. “We have not identified additional cuts to help us reach this goal. ... We don’t anticipate cutting these positions in the next 30 days. If a position is vacant and we can do without it, then yes, that would be cut immediately.”

As to what positions could be cut first, Woodruff said “I have no idea at this point.”

He added that the email was sent to staff early on to avoid confusion at Jacksonville City Hall.

“Nobody likes surprises,” Woodruff said.

He said staff morale has not suffered because of the notice that jobs would be cut.

“The first response was one of appreciation of the fact that we are keeping them advised,” Woodruff said. “The second reaction is a human reaction that people are concerned.”

In the memorandum to staff in June and the email on Tuesday, Woodruff wrote that services would not diminish because of the cuts.

The city manager has “full jurisdiction over employee hiring, the size of workforce,” Woodruff said on Wednesday. “The manager can determine that certain approved positions can be frozen or eliminated.”

The council sets policy, which the city manager enforces, he added, noting that council would not be involved in the dismissals.